Dark Secrets The Desert Hides
by Traci
Summary: Brass has a case he asks for help with. When something goes horribly wrong Grissom is forced to make a life-savinglife-ending decision.


Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly.

Rating:  PG-13

Category: Drama, horror, minor descriptions of gore

Author: Traci

Archiving: Yes to graveshiftcsi – anyone else yes, just let me know were.

Feedback: traci_ann@yahoo.com

Summary:  Brass has a case he asks for help with.  Grissom is forced to make a life-saving/life-ending decision.  Will it end up costing the CSI team one of their own?

Authors Notes:  Uh, I realized as I started writing this that people are going to start wondering about me.  Because at the moment I'm also writing a dark Law and Order: CI story and my previous CSI story was also a tad on the gory side.  Uh, really, I don't have bodies buried in my backyard!  I'm hooked on Spongebob Squarepants (which actually could be a far scarier thing than gore hehe).  Anywho… just letting everyone know J  And with that… this idea came to me after watching "House of 1000 Corpses".  It was sorta like watching an LSD version of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' – thank goodness for the FW button!

Dark Secrets the Desert Hides

Horrified screams filled the dark, desert night.  

"No, please," cried the girl.  "Let me go!"

The cries slowly died out, leaving the night calm and quiet once again.

******************

Detective Brass knocked on the office door.  "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

The occupant looked up, adjusting the glasses on his face.  "Come in."

Brass closed the door behind him.  "Grissom, I need your help."  He sat across from his friend.  "I know it's not a case CSI's would normally be involved with, not yet anyway, but it's bad."

Gil Grissom clicked off the screen he had been looking at and gave his full attention to his friend.  "What is it?"

"Fifteen missing persons reports."

He shrugged.  "That's not really unusual for Vegas."

"Fifteen in three days," Brass added.

"Oh."

Brass placed the reports on Grissom's desk.  "All ages, all sexes.  As far as we can tell there are no connections."

"Bodies?"

"None.  That's why I knew you guys wouldn't normally be involved with this but I know they are most likely dead and I know we have a serial killer on our hands.  Thanks to budget cuts, there aren't enough officers to look into it yet.  Not until we have a body anyway."

"What do you think I can do?" Grissom asked, looking at him over the folder.

"I was hoping maybe you could look over it, see if you can pick up anything that maybe I'm missing."

***************************

The CSI team was gathered in Grissom's office awaiting their assignments for that night.  

"Warrick, Nick, there's been a murder behind Caesar's."  He handed them a slip of paper.  

They left without saying a word.

Sara Sidle and Catherine Willows sat patiently, though Catherine sensed something was not right.

"I have a different kind of case that I want you both to help me on," he told them, handing the folder to Sara.

She looked over it quickly then looked at him.  "There are no bodies," she commented, handing it off to Catherine.

"No, but there are fifteen missing."

Catherine, lost in thought, spoke up.  "Serial killer?"

He nodded.  "Looks like it.  Brass asked me to help him with it.  Sara, I want you to research any and all missing persons in the last three months.  See if there are any others that may match up.  If you find more, go back even further.  Catherine and I are going to head out to the places where these people were last scene and see if we can find anything there."

Sara and Catherine shared a glance then the younger woman left to start her research.

"Gil…"

"I owe it to Brass.  And if we can catch this guy, don't we owe it to the victims and future victims?"

She smiled.  "That wasn't what I was going to ask."

His eyes locked into the blue he often found himself lost in.  "Then what, my dear, were you going to ask?" 

"Can I go change to more comfortable shoes before we go?"

Grissom laughed.  "Yes, I think you can."

***********************

By the time Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes arrived at the crime scene, a large, curious crowd had already gathered.

"What is the fascination with death?" Nick asked, his Texas drawl creeping into some of the words.

"I'll never know," Warrick commented then stepped out of the truck.

An officer led them to the body.  It was badly decomposed.  

"Apparently it was left under a pile of rags," the officer commented.  "That's why no one found it till tonight."

Warrick crouched down beside the body while Nick took pictures of the scene.  "I'd say this person's been dead for at least a month," Warrick said as he began collecting evidence.

**********************

Sara sipped a large mug of coffee as she sat before her computer.  In less than half an hour, she had already managed to add another ten names to the list.

********************

Grissom and Catherine walked into a convenience store located just on the edge of town.  The clerk, seemingly in his late teens to early twenties, stared at them when they showed him their ID's.

"We were wondering if you ever saw this couple," Catherine said, showing him a picture of a man and woman in their late twenties.

He studied the picture.  "Yeah.  I remember them.  They were fighting at the time when they walked in here," he offered.

Grissom, meanwhile, was wandering around the store.  "These cameras," he said, pointing to the surveillance cameras in all the corners.  "Do you have the tapes?"  He walked back to the counter and stood beside Catherine.

"Yeah, in the back.  What night are you looking for?"

"This past Wednesday," Catherine told him.

He disappeared in the back.  

Catherine leaned against the counter and looked at Grissom.  "You don't really think the kidnappers took them right from here, do you?"

"No.  But it will at least confirm they were here."

The clerk returned with a tape and handed it to them.  "Our VCR is broken so take it with you."

They left the store.  "Do you want to head back and take a look at it now?" Catherine asked, climbing into the passenger's seat of the SUV."

He shook his head.  "Adam Jervor was last seen at a gas station not far from here.  I think we should check that out first.  Call Sara, see if she's come up with anything."

Catherine placed the call while Grissom drove.

"Yeah," Sara sighed, "I came up with an additional thirty names that could be connected."

"Thirty?"

Grissom glanced at Catherine.

"That's just within the last three months," Sara added.  "I'm just starting a larger search.  Any luck on your end?"

"We have a tape.  We're heading to check out another location now."

"Okay.  I'll talk to you soon then."

Catherine ended the call.

"She found thirty more?" he asked.

"Just within the last three months.  She's starting to search further back now."

He nodded and kept driving.

***********************

Warrick found Nick in the lab with Greg.  "Hey, the autopsy report came back," he announced.

Nick looked up from the microscope.  

"The victim is female, approximately twenty years of age and was tortured before being killed and…"  He paused.

"And what?" Greg asked.

"And… cannibalized."

Greg turned a shade or two green while Nick stared at Warrick.  "We, uh, we ran the blood sample from the thread on the shirt.  It belongs to a male, so that rules out our victim."

Warrick nodded.  "We have a set of fingerprints.  I was just heading down to see if Sara could run them for me."

"I'll join you," Nick told him.  "Greg, see if you can find a match for the blood."

"On it."

**********************

The two men found Sara massaging her temples. 

"Sara?" Warrick asked.

"Huh?" She turned to face them.  "It's this case Grissom gave us."

Warrick remained standing while Nick sat on the edge of a nearby desk.  

"Brass asked him to help out.  Fifteen people have disappeared.  Well, on some research, I found an additional thirty just within the last three months and now I'm already up to another forty within the last year."

"Eighty five people?" Nick stared at her in disbelief.

She nodded.  "I'm not sure if they are all connected yet, but…  What brings you two down here?"

Warrick handed her a piece of paper.  "I was going to see if you could run these prints for us but… don't worry about it, I can do it."

She shook her head and took the paper.  "It'll be a nice break."  Scanning the prints into the computer, she ran the program and they sat and waited.

"Why did Brass want our help?  It's not an official crime scene yet."  Warrick stood behind Sara, watching the fingerprints roll by.

"I don't know."

Finally the computer beeped that a match had been found.  Sara looked closely at the screen to be sure then at the list beside her.  "It's now an official crime scene, these prints belong to missing person number twenty-seven."

************************

Catherine had stayed outside to look around for any clues while Grissom had gone inside to talk to the gas station attendant.

She found the bathroom door to be unlocked and, putting latex gloves on, carefully opened the door, cringing when a foul odor hit her senses.  Turning on the light, she gagged slightly.  It appeared the bathroom had not been cleaned in quite some time.  'Next time I go talk to the attendant,' she thought.  Standing in the middle of the room, she looked around.  

"Find anything," Grissom asked from the doorway.

"Geez!" she yelped.  "Could you make a little noise next time?  No, nothing.  But as you can tell, finding evidence here won't be easy."  She looked at him.  "Any luck inside?"

He shook his head.  "The guy just started tonight.  No cameras."  

Catherine walked towards him.  "Do we process here or not?"

Taking another look around, he said, "Probably no point to dusting for fingerprints.  I guess head…."

Grissom's phone rang.  "Grissom."

"Griss, it's Sara.  The body at Caesar's?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she's one of the missing people.  Are you and Catherine coming back soon?"

"We're on our way now."  He hung up and stepped aside so Catherine could leave the bathroom.  "Sara wants us back there."

***********************

Catherine and Grissom met up with the others in the lab.  

"What have you got?" he asked.

The others looked between them before Warrick spoke up.  "The body at Caesar's was badly decomposed.  Had been lying there for at least three weeks.  The report indicated evidence of cannibalism as well."

Catherine grimaced.  

Nick picked up where he had left off.  "Greg ran a blood sample we found on some thread on the body.  It didn't match the victim."

"We ran the fingerprints," Sara continued, "and they matched a Clara Dunyan.  She disappeared three weeks ago."

"How do you figure they're connected?" Catherine asked.

Sara turned back to the computer and projected the information so all could see.  "I can't be one hundred percent sure but so far none of the missing have any kind of criminal records."  She turned back to them.  "What did you guys manage to find out?"

Grissom slid the tape in the VCR.  "We know that the married couple was at the convenience store like we believed.  The clerk there ID'd them."  He pushed play, grabbed the remote, and sat down.  "We don't know if Adam was at the gas station though."  He fast-forwarded until he found the couple.  

The team watched but saw nothing unusual on tape.  There were no other customers in the store and the clerk was the same one that Catherine and Grissom had spoken to earlier that night.  Upon stopping the tape, he said, "I think we need to call in the FBI."

***************************

Grissom remained in his office.  He had already dismissed his team to go home after they had all put in eighteen hours without a break.

Catherine quietly stepped into his office and closed the door before he even realized she was there.  "You need to get some sleep too, you know."

He had been so lost in thought that he physically jumped at the sound of her voice.

She smiled and sat down.  "That's what you deserved for last night at the gas station."  Her expression turned serious.  "Gil, you can't keep going with no sleep either you know."

"Well, it would seem you are already disobeying my orders.  Why are you still here?"

"Because I knew you'd be.  I already talked to Nancy and she's keeping Lindsey at least for the next few days so now you have my full attention here."

"Cath…"

"No.  I know you.  You will keep at this until you practically fall flat on your face from exhaustion.  We'll find the guy but killing yourself over it won't help matters.  The FBI is here working on it now too."

He stared at her and she stared right back, neither willing to back down.

Tried as he might, he could not stifle a yawn and knew he had lost the second the Cheshire Cat grin formed on his friend's face.  "But only for a few hours."

She stood up, walked over to him and pulled him up from the chair.  "A few hours is all you need," she said, pushing him out the door.

***********************

Thick cobwebs wrapped themselves around him as he ran down the hall.  Pain seared through his arm and back but he forced himself to ignore it.  Jennifer was gone.  He had to escape.

Tripping, he landed with a thud on the hard ground below.  He reached up for something to pull himself up with.  When he was back on his feet he screamed.  Before him a skeleton stood staring back.

He turned to run again.  "Help me," he pleaded to an empty place.  

***********************

Grissom awoke in his own bed to the smell of bacon.  Confusion was soon replaced with understanding.  Quickly dressing, he found Catherine mixing up some eggs in a bowl.

"Thought you were supposed to home and get some sleep too," he told her.

"I did," she said, smiling.  "I actually only got here about five minutes ago."  She walked over to him and handed him a large glass of orange juice.  "Couldn't break with our tradition though."

His eyes followed her as she returned to the stove. 

"Scrambled is all you're getting today though," she said.  "We don't have time for anything else.  Brass called."  She turned back to face him after pouring the eggs in the pan.  "They found our missing couple last night."

************************

Catherine and Grissom ran into Warrick in the parking lot as they arrived.

Warrick fell back to talk to Catherine.  "How'd you manage to get him to go home?" he asked quietly.

"It wasn't easy."

Brass, Nick, Sara and three FBI agents were already waiting in Grissom's office when they walked in.  Grissom took his seat while Catherine sat beside Sara and Warrick stood.

Agent Graswerd began.  "The bodies that were found last night belong to Jim and Valerie Hostlem.  They, like Clara Dunyan, show signed of cannibalism.  The coroner places Mrs. Hostlem's death at approximately two days ago while her husband appears to have been killed yesterday morning.  Patches of skin were purposely removed from each of their bodies."

Greg stood in the doorway and softly knocked.

"Come in, Greg," Grissom sighed.

"I, uh, got the report back on the blood sample.  It belongs to Jerry Gedhart."  He stood still, holding the report.

"Is that our suspect?" Grissom asked.

"No."  Greg paused.  "He was, according to Sara's list, victim number one."

"So we have a definite connection," Agent Joelyn Kricker said. 

"And a definite mass murderer," Warrick added.  

"Well, the serial killer," Greg began only to be cut off by Grissom.

"Mass murderer, Greg."

"Right."

"There is a difference.  By definition a serial killer kills in a similar pattern, looks for similar things in all his victims.  A mass murderer kills anyone for anything."

"Then our mass murderer apparently has an appetite for human flesh.  I ran some things through the computer and compared them against each of the victims we presently have and there were trace amounts of human saliva around many of the wounds but not enough to get a DNA sample from."

"Keep working on it," Grissom told him.  "Sara, help him out."

"We're going to have to let the press know about this," Brass said.  "It's a safety issue now."

***************************

Three days had passed since a definite connection had been made.   All the CSI teams were put on the case with only a few others to handle any other cases.  The FBI had brought in a full team and even Brass had managed to obtain a good number of officers.  Leads were few and far between.

"Sara and I are running out for food," Catherine told Grissom.  "Do you want anything?"

"No."

"Gil."

He looked up at her from his desk.  "Whatever you get is fine with me."

She nodded, watched him for a few moments, then left.

They pulled up outside a twenty-four hour diner and went in to place their order.  

"This is so frustrating," Sara mumbled.

"I know."

Sara looked at Catherine.  "How do you do it?"

A confused look crossed Catherine's face.  "Do what?"

"Stay so calm.  Not to mention get Griss to go home and sleep once in awhile."

"Practice.  For both," she said with a small grin.  "Everyone has to know their limitations of what they can and can't handle emotionally.  I guess I just have learned how to put up a barrier of sorts with some cases."

Sara nodded.  "I wish I could do that.  This one is just so horrific.  I mean, who knows what we'll end finding as the answer."

"Don't think of what may lie ahead.  Focus on the now."

"Order 39," called out the hostess.

Sara and Catherine paid for their order and headed back to the Cherokee.  Sliding into the driver's side, Catherine locked the doors immediately after Sara got in.  

"How's Lindsey doing?" Sara asked as they drove down the deserted road.

"Good.  She's not happy about my schedule at the moment, though."

Sara smiled.

Suddenly they were jolted from behind.

Catherine glanced in the rear view mirror while Sara swung around. 

"What's with that moron?" Sara hissed.

The truck hit them again.

"I don't know, but I'm not sticking around to find out.  Call Brass, tell him to get someone out here now."  Catherine swerved back and forth along the desert street trying to avoid another hit.

While Sara called, the truck hit them again and she nearly dropped the phone.  "Brass, yeah it's Sara Sidle.  Catherine and I are on the road out by Casey's Diner.  We're being followed and he's trying to push us off the road."  After some further discussion, Sara hung up.  "He said a car isn't far from here."

"Sara, do you think you can shoot out his tires from the window?"  

Another hit and Catherine lost control.  They SUV flipped over four times and landed on its roof along the side of the road.

The truck turned off its lights and pulled up beside them.

***********************

Grissom looked up from his desk upon hearing a knock.  "More bodies?"

Brass shook his head.  "I only wish that were it.  I just got a call from Sara.  She and Catherine were being followed and apparently the guy was trying to run them off the road."

Grissom was up from the moment he said the word followed.  "Where are they?"

Brass remained standing in the doorway.  "My guys are out there now.  They aren't there."

"Brass…"

"We found the Cherokee.  Catherine and Sara weren't in it."

Pushing past Brass, Grissom ran into Warrick in the hallway.  "Get Nick, Sara and Catherine are missing."

***********************

"Oh man," Warrick said as they pulled up to the scene.  The Cherokee was still upside down and smashed up badly.

In silence, the CSI team walked over to the site.  Brass talked to a few of his officers then returned to the three men.  "They found blood.  Probably theirs.  Sara said they were being followed by a dark colored pick-up but couldn't give any more details than that."

Grissom tightened his jaw.  Putting gloves on, he carefully picked up Catherine's wallet, which had been thrown from the SUV.  

"Griss?"  Warrick hesitated.  "What do you want us to do?"

"Process the scene like we would any other case."

**************************

Half an hour later, they had removed what evidence they could and Nick and Warrick headed back to the lab.

A tow truck moved in and flipped the Cherokee upright before loading it to be removed.

"We'll find them," Brass offered, standing beside Grissom.

"He has them," was all Grissom said as he left.

**************************

"Sara?"  Catherine's head pounded and she felt nauseous.  It was cold and damp wherever she was.  "Sara!"

"Yeah, here," she mumbled.  "You okay?"

Catherine nodded then, realizing it was too dark to see anyone, she said, "Yeah.  You?"

"I think so.  Where are we?"

"Don't know but wherever it is we've got to get out of here."

"You think it's that psycho?"

Catherine said nothing and Sara knew.

In the distance they heard blood-chilling screams.

"Sara, where are you?"

"Over here.  Keep talking."

"I don't know how we're going to get out of here."  Catherine sighed.

"Is that you?" Sara asked.

"No."

Sara screamed.

"Sara?"

"It's… sorry, it's a body."

Cringing, Catherine said, "Stay where you are, I'll try to find you.  The room can't be that big."  She began crawling on her hands and knees then stopped.  Bones.  Many bones.  

"Cath?"

"I found more bones."  Finally she grabbed hold of something human and warm.  "Please tell me that's you."

"It is.  Now that we found each other exactly how are we going to get out of somewhere where we can't see?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

They heard footsteps approaching.

Catherine felt Sara grip her arm.

The soft glow of a flashlight illuminated the hallway beyond the cage they were in.  It was lined by thick, dusty cobwebs and bodies.  

Both women gasped.

The figure inserted a key in the lock.  "It's time to play."

******************

A cold chill ran down Grissom's spine as he sat in the lab feeling helpless.  Catherine and Sara were missing.  He was sure they had been taken by the mass murderer and there was nothing he could do.

"Griss?"

"Hey Nick, what have we got?"

"Not much," the younger man told him.  "Nothing really."

"We should be out there not sitting in here," Warrick grumbled.  

"Evidence.  We need to follow the evidence," Grissom reminded him, though not thoroughly believing it himself at the moment.

Just then Brass walked in.  "We may have something."

********************

The killer dragged both women down the hall, cobwebs entangling in their hair.  While both women were trained in self-defense, he offered them no chance to fight.  The next thing they knew they were tied back to back, hands tied above them.

"We're criminal investigators.  You'll get the death penalty for this," Catherine hissed.

The killer's face appeared before her and she struggled to remain calm.  "Do you remember me?" he asked, grinning.

She stared at him for a moment then recognition set in.  "The convenience store clerk."

He laughed.  "You could have gotten me then.  There were three bodies right there beneath the counter.  Some cops you and your partner are."

"Cath?"

"The kid we interviewed at the convenience store.  The one who gave us the tape."

He walked away and flipped on the switch, lighting up the room.

Sara and Catherine were sure they were going to be sick.  The walls were lined with his victims, some were recent and some were well decayed.  "I consider myself to be an artist," he told them.  "The human body is a fascinating thing.  Each one is so different and unique in it's own way.  I, as an artist, feel the need to expose those 'individualities'."

Picking up a scalpel, he walked over to Sara.  "You. I have not seen you before."

Catherine felt Sara's body tense.  "But you do know me," Catherine stated.

He stared at Sara for a moment, drawing strength on the combination of fear and hatred he found in her eyes before stepping around to face Catherine.

"Yes, I do know you.  You and that partner of yours would make a fine collection to my work.  Maybe even become my masterpiece."

Catherine bit back a cry as the scalpel cut into her forearm.

The killer pulled out her business card from his pocket.  "Don't leave, I have to make a phone call."  At the door, he stopped to look back.  "Just to make sure you don't leave…"  He pulled a lever and immediately the women were lifted off the ground, hanging only by the ropes tied around their wrists.  He then left.

"Catherine?"

"I'm here."

"Are you alright?"

"Uh-huh," she muttered.

"Cath."

"I'm fine.  Just a minor cut."

Sara nodded but said no more.  She knew what thoughts were going through her friends mind at the moment.  That same scalpel had been used in countless murders probably.  What diseases did it carry?  Did it matter?  Were they going to get out of there?

"I'm sure they found our car by now," Sara offered.

"And I'm sure they will heaven and hell to find us," Catherine told her through clenched teeth.  The pain was growing.  Hanging from a ceiling was not helping.

*********************

Brass, Warrick, Nick, and Grissom led the ten police cars out to the desert.  A report had come in from someone who had been driving past the area and heard screaming.  No more information had been available.

Grissom's phone rang.  "Grissom."

"I need you to complete my masterpiece," the killer calmly stated.

"Where are you?"

Immediately the others were brought to attention.

"You know where I am.  You are on your way here now."

"Let me talk to them."

"They are a little um, shall we say hung up at the moment."

Another chill ran through him.  What if they were too late?  

"The sooner you get here the sooner my masterpiece will be completed.  That partner of yours is certainly a lovely addition to it."

Anger and rage consumed Grissom but he managed to control it.  "Did you hurt her?"

"She'd probably say yes."

Grissom's hand tightened around the phone.  

Warrick and Nick glanced at each other.  Something was wrong.

"What about Sara?" Grissom asked.

"Oh, she's fine at the moment.  But which one remains fine will be up to you when you get here.  You come in alone or they both die on the spot."

Grissom continued to hold onto the phone after the killer disconnected.  Finally hanging up, he said, "We're going to the right place."

***********************

The killer returned.  "Your partner will be here shortly."  He lowered the rope so that their feet were almost touching the ground.  Stepping over to Catherine, he smiled.  "And what a surprise he will be in for."  Again, he lifted the scalpel to her, this time cutting her along the right side of her hairline.

"Leave her alone," Sara screamed.

"Don't worry, honey, your turn is coming up soon," he said as he moved the scalpel to her collarbone where he made three large incisions.

Sara felt Catherine fall limp behind her.  'Please, Cath, be alright,' she prayed silently.

***********************

They pulled up and Brass gave the orders for everyone but Grissom to remain where they were.  "I still don't like it though," he told Grissom.

"It may be the only chance we have of rescuing them alive."  He walked to the door and, with one quick glance back, disappeared inside with a flashlight.

************************

"Where are you?"

"Grissom!" Sara called.

The killer moved away from the now unconscious Catherine and headed to the doorway.  "Follow the voices, Grissom," he called out.

A moment later, Grissom appeared at the door and stopped.  Fear ran through him at the sight of Catherine hanging unconscious.  "Sara?"

"I'm alright but Catherine…"

"Yeah, yeah," the killer mumbled, still holding the bloodstained scalpel.  "You see, Grissom, that night you and your lovely partner walked into my store I knew I needed the both of you."

For the first time, Grissom looked at the killer and recognized him.

"Your friend, Sara, here is just a beautiful additional bonus.  However, I am prepared to make you a deal.  You can leave here alive and in one piece and you may take one of these lovely women with you."  He stopped Grissom before he could speak.  "But you may only take one of these women with you.  You get to decide who lives and who dies."

It felt as if time suddenly stopped.  Grissom took in the surroundings.  This was a madman who went beyond madness.  It wouldn't matter who he chose, he had not planned on letting any of them go.

"Griss, save Catherine.  She's got a reason to live."

Lindsey.  How would she handle to death of her other parent?  For a child so small she had already had to deal with so much.

"Sara, we're all getting out of here," he said.

The killer laughed.  "Only one."  He stepped over to Catherine.  "Is it her?" he asked, running the blade of the scalpel gently down her cheek, not cutting it.  He then stepped over to Sara.  "Or is it her?" he asked, again, resting the scalpel against her cheek, leaving marks of Catherine's blood there.

*********************

"He's been in there too long," Nick said.  "We need to go in."

Brass looked at him, looked at his watch, then nodded, telling his men to enter quietly.

*****************

"Then I choose me," Grissom told him, knowing it was pointless but it was buying time.

The killer laughed and stepped away from Sara.  "You do realize that is the oldest line in the book, right?"

"Griss, please, Catherine needs help," Sara pleaded.

But it would only be over his own dead body that he would let either woman be killed.  "It's me or it's no one," he told the guy.

"Well…"  He stood contemplating.  "Then I guess it's no one."  He made a run for Catherine, scalpel held straight out, when a shot rang out and he dropped to the floor at her feet.

Grissom turned around to find Warrick holding out a gun.  Nick, Brass and two other officers came running up behind him.

Immediately the officers ran over to the killer while Grissom and Warrick went over to Sara and Catherine.  

"We need something to cut them down with," Warrick shouted.

"There's… there's a lever over there that will lower the rope," Sara whispered.

Nick looked around and found it, lowering them to the floor.  He walked over and cut them both free from the ceiling then cut the rope away from Sara's hands.

Sara literally fell into Nick's arms as the blood rushed through her arms once again.  "Catherine?"

She turned around, still in his arms and the three younger CSI's watched as Grissom carefully cut Catherine free and gently placed her on the ground.  "She's not breathing!" he announced and immediately began mouth-to-mouth.  

Brass called over the radio that they needed an ambulance right away.

Warrick knelt down beside Catherine, taking hold of her wrist to keep track of her pulse.  "It's weak but it's still there."

Grissom continued artificial respiratory procedures.  "Come on, Catherine.  Lindsey needs you."  He breathed into her again.  "You're not dying on us.  Not on this case."  Again a breath. 

"Cat, come on," Warrick said.

Nick was still holding Sara as tears filled her eyes.  He knew she was not okay herself but right now, Catherine was in far more danger.

Another breath.  

"Pulse is weakening," Warrick stated, looking over at Grissom.

Grissom breathed into her once again.  "Cat, please, you can't die on me," he whispered it so softly that only Warrick was able to hear.

She gasped.  

He smiled.  "Come on, breathe."  He then looked over to Nick and Sara.  "Get her out of here."

"But," Sara began.

"She's going to be alright. You need to get out of here and get checked out." He stood his ground then returned his attention back to the woman whose head now rested on his lap.  "Welcome back," he said to her.

She struggled to speak.  "Sara?"

"She's fine.  Nick's taking her out now.  She wouldn't leave until we were sure you were going to be okay."

Finally she opened her eyes and stared right up at Grissom.

"Glad to have you back with us, Cat," Warrick said before following after Nick and Sara.

"It was the clerk," she whispered.

Grissom nodded.  "He's dead."  He gently wiped away some blood running down her cheek.  "Will you be alright if I carry you out or would you rather wait until the EMT's arrive?"

With tears, she pleaded, "Get me out of here now."

***********************

Feeling no need to worry her daughter, Catherine had begged Grissom not to tell Lindsey what had happened.  He stood by her hospital bed along with Warrick, Sara, Nick and Brass.  

"Geez, I feel like I'm lying in a coffin or something," Catherine said, looking around at her friends.

"You almost were, my dear," Grissom reminded her.

Catherine's eyes fell upon Sara.  "How are you doing?"

The brunette smiled.  "I'm good.  Remember what we were talking about before the crash?"

She nodded.

"I think I'm starting to learn how to do that.  But you…"

"I'm fine, really.  I've dealt with worse."

No one pushed any further.  They all knew she was referring to her time with her ex-husband, Eddie.

"So what's the verdict on the case?"

Brass looked around then, when no one else spoke, he began.  "It's going to be a long process.  There were a lot of victims in there.  But he was definitely our man.  We found the bodies of the missing couple in a cell that was in there."

Catherine and Sara shared a look.

He continued.  "Based on the list Sara gathered, we are estimating at least eighty victims, probably more.  His name was Joe Gresh, twenty-two years of age and he had moved out to the Vegas area exactly one year ago from Jersey City.  We've already contacted the police in Jersey and they are looking into missing persons there.  He had no prior record.  We've found no motive as of yet."

The group remained silent, each trying to absorb the fact that such a young person was capable of such horrific deeds.

"Look, I want you two to take the next few days off," Grissom began.  "I also want you both to meet with the psychologist."

"Grissom," Sara started.

"No.  I saw what was in there.  I actually am going to insist that we all have at least one meeting with the psych."

Normally Warrick and Nick would have argued but for the sake of Catherine and Sara, they agreed.

Sara yawned.  

"Why don't you guys take Sara home," Grissom said.  "It's been a long day for all of us."

Slowly the three nodded, said their goodbyes to Catherine, and left.  

"I guess I should be heading out too.  Reports to write, media coverage…"   Brass smiled at Catherine.  "Thank goodness you two were alright."

"Thanks to you."

He gave a small nod and left.  

She turned to Grissom.  "And I hear especially thanks to you."

Sitting on the edge of her bed, he smiled.  "Thanks to all of us."  The smile faded.  "Thank you most of all for hanging on."

"Takes more than a mass murderer to kill me," she teased although fear still showed through her eyes.

"The doctor said he's going to let you go in a few hours.  You did suffer some blood loss and they feel that that, along with the situation, is what caused you to stop breathing for a short time."

She nodded.  "They said the results from the testing on the scalpel should be back within the next week."

While Grissom shared the same fears as her as to the results of those tests, he said nothing.  Finally, he told her, "I'm staying with you until they do release you."

"Gil…"

"No.  You won't let me call Nancy or Lindsey and I'm not letting you go home alone.  Not after what you went through."

"What about Sara?" she countered.  "She went through the same thing."

"Which is exactly why Nick and Warrick are on strict orders to stay with her," he grinned.  "Though I don't think they exactly saw it as orders."

"We are both very capable adults you know."

"Who have both lived through something traumatic beyond what you even see in horror movies.  You two are the only known survivors of this madman.  No, I am not going to let you go home alone.  And no, you do not have a say in it."  He looked down when he felt her hand cover his.  He looked into her eyes when he felt her other hand on his face wiping away tears he hadn't even realized had formed.  "I almost lost you, Catherine," he whispered.

"Is that the real reason why you don't want to leave?"

Did he dare open himself up for once?

She smiled at him.  "It's okay, you don't have to answer."  She sat up and wrapped her arms around him.  "I'm glad you're here for me."

He held her tighter than he had planned.  He had seen her wake up after nearly dying.  He had told himself she was alright but to feel her in his arms, warm and breathing, just flooded his emotions and he found himself crying on her shoulder and she, too, pulled him closer.

It would be a long way to full recovery for everyone but together, as a team, they would face it.

The End


End file.
